Making Angels
by kissesandcake
Summary: Jefferson reflects about Emma, her importance in his life... and somehow ends up thinking of fairytales. Basically just a fluffy conversation. Mad Swan. Post-curse.


_A/N: Hello everyone! So, this story turned out completely different from what I had intended it to. It was just supposed to be some reflection on Jefferson's part, but the dialogue came into my mind while I was writing it, and didn't leave me alone until I included it, so here it is. Hope it makes sense haha. This can be a companion piece to Slaying Demons, set in the same universe. I just prefer writing one-shots instead of multi-chapter fanfiction because that makes me more dedicated to finishing them :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any the characters, or the show, or , or the English language, or the Internet._

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She had magic. Even though she had been raised in an unmagical world. And not just the kind of magic derived from being born in a magical world. She had magic within herself. Her magic came from her soul.

Her heart was incomplete, from all those years spent alone, without any human attachments. But her soul remained undamaged. Jefferson always believed you could not change someone's core, their essence. You could mess with their minds. Destroy their hearts, even. But one's soul would always remain intact, despite all the darkness thrown at them. That's what kept him from slipping into complete insanity during the curse, he thought. He had a strong soul. And so did she. Probably one of the things that had drawn them to each other so intensely.

She could transform people. She could keep people centered. She could keep him balanced, and take away all the madness. She made him remember the man he once was, and the man he wanted to be. Ironically enough, the night he lost his mind was also the night he gained back control.

The curse had taken everything he loved from him. But the curse also gave him something. Something he never knew he was missing until he saw her coming to Storybrooke. That night she arrived, he not only noticed time start again, but he felt like he was coming out of his sleep. For all those years he had been numb to all the world's sensations... color, lightness, beauty. And that night he started to notice them. It was the first time something other than the curse crossed his mind.

"Have you watched Beauty and the Beast?", he asked her one night. "You know...the ending, when the spell breaks and the kingdom starts changing from darkness to light, the gargoyles change into angels and the Beast becomes the Prince?"

"I have a son obsessed with fairy tales," Emma chuckled. "Yes, I've watched it. Multiple times."

Jefferson had found it very weird at first to hear stories about people he knew in the Enchanted Forest. Or even worse: stories about himself. But Grace had grown up in a world full of those stories, so after the curse broke she had told him all about them, and whether he liked to admit it or not, he actually learned to appreciate a few of them. Beauty and the Beast happened to be one of his favorite stories, because the ending always made him think of the curse... think of Emma, and how she had turned Storybrooke upside down, bringing lightness, making angels.

"That's how it felt, you know, when you came to Storybrooke," he said. He simply looked into her eyes, with the subtlest yet most honest smile she had ever seen on his face. Emma didn't get to see that side of Jefferson often. He was normally playful, teasing. She knew he loved her. She didn't need to hear him say it to know it. He was just like her in that sense... guarded. And he rarely let that guard down. But every once in a while she could see his vulnerability.

"Now I will keep imagining you as the Beast, and how I saved you from the darkness," Emma teased, pulling a bit at his scarf.

"Wait...what?" he replied, sounding offended, his hand dramatically placed over his chest. "No, that's some other guy. Please don't make me think of you and him."

She laughed. "Do not worry, darling. He doesn't have a hat. I'm not really into hatless guys."

"So you're just with me for the hat, I see," Jefferson looked down, feigning hurt.

She circled around him, whispering into his ear. "Well, it is a very sexy hat."

He put one arm behind his back and tried to tickle her stomach. Emma started laughing and tried to run away, but he grabbed her hand, and pulled her close to him again. "I love you so much, silly."

She entwined their fingers, and circled her arms around his waist, kissing the space between his shoulder blades lightly, and resting her cheek on his back. It was one of her favorite things, pressing her ear into his back and listening to the calm pace of his heart beating. "I love you too," she said closing her eyes and relaxing into his warmth.

Seconds later he removed himself from her arms abruptly, which made Emma almost jump from the scare. Jefferson bent down, picked something up from the grass, and turned back to Emma, arms hiding something behind his back, smiling. "What are you doing?" she asked, half amused.

"Just because I'm no Beast, it doesn't mean you can't have your own enchanted rose," he said, extending his arm and offering her a white flower, that looked nothing even remotely close to a rose. "And by enchanted rose I mean completely-stripped-of-magic –", he brought the flower close to his eyes, probably trying to identify it, "– flower," he completed without succeeding.

"Stripped of magic flower? Wow!" she teased. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I have no idea. I mean, I'm clearly the best catch in this town," he said nonchalantly, and Emma held back a laugh. "Prince Charming doesn't count, he's your father –" he added, knowing she would object. "So you better treat me really well, because you never know... all those ladies out there in line, waiting for a chance... OUCH," he complained, when Emma slapped his upper arm with a little too much energy.

"_You_ better stop being so full of yourself, before I go after those hatless guys," she crossed her arms, challenging him.

He walked over to her slowly, uncrossed her arms, and held her hands between both their bodies. "Then I'll need to convince you to stay with me," he leaned close to her, whispering.

Jefferson kissed her neck softly. "You're just lucky I like that scarf so much." She pulled at it once more, bringing him close to her, and brushing her lips on his lightly. He smiled into her lips. "I'm just happy I made the right choice of clothing."

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_That was it :D Hope you liked it. Reviews are always appreciated, as small as they may be ˆ_ˆ_

_PS: I didn't mean at all to suggest Emma is Belle, or to compare both of them. The Beauty and the Beast fairy tale just fit really well into what I wanted to write about Emma breaking the curse, so I ended up using it. Hope no one gets offended ;)_


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